1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium for implementing a casino craps game with a plurality of side bets.
2. Description of Related Art
Casino craps is an exciting dice game which is well known and considered by many as the most popular dice game is the United States, both in the electronic gaming industry as well as in casinos.
The standard rules of play for casino craps are very well established, so there is no need to inform those having an ordinary skill in the art as to how casino craps is played. However, to understand the advantages of the present invention that is a modification to casino craps, a basic description of the game of casino craps is described herein. Casino craps involves two identical standard six-sided dice being rolled either across the playing surface of a gaming table of a casino or on the screen of an electronic gaming device (“EGD”), multiple times by a designated player (the “shooter”), to produce outcomes numbers used to determine the resolution of wagers placed on various bets by any of the players participating in the game. A bet can be resolved (“settled”) as a winning bet, a losing bet or a tie (“push”).
Each standard six-sided dice has a specific number of dots (“pips”) as a visual representation of the numbers one to six, located on each of the six sides of the dice. Once a roll is completed the total number of pips showing on the upper most side of each dice is added together and the resulting numerical value is considered the “rolled outcome number”. Of the thirty six possible combinations using two six-sided dice, there are eleven possible different outcome numbers, integers from 2 to 12 inclusive, as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1Possible outcomes from adding the two dice valuesDie #1Die #2123456123456723456783456789456789105678910116789101112
A game of casino craps consists of an unlimited number of “rounds”, with the start of each new round in a multiple player game involving a different player, the next player in sequential order, being offered the opportunity to become the shooter. Each round consists of one or more of each of the two specific, separate and different phases. The initial phase of a round is called the “come-out phase”, and the final phase of a round is called the “point phase”. Dependent upon the outcome numbers rolled, a round will always include a minimum of two phases, one initial come-out phase and one final point phase. Dependent upon the outcome numbers rolled, a round can also include an undetermined number of additional phases in groups consisting of an additional point phase and an additional come-out phase called a “series” of phases. Each additional series included in a round are played after the initial come-out phase and prior to the final point phase.
A round including the minimum of two phases starts in the initial come-out phase. It moves from the initial come-out phase to a point phase upon a roll of an outcome number that is one of any of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 (“place numbers”), and that number is then considered the “point number” during the following point phase. Rolling one of the place numbers (“establishing the point number”) is the main objective of the come-out phase. A round then ends in the final point phase and can move from the final point phase to the start of a new round, upon completion of the current round, with a roll of an outcome number of 7 called a “seven-out”.
For a round to be played for longer than the minimum two phases, it requires rolled outcome numbers during one or more point phase that allows for additional series of phases. To include a series of phases in a round, the point number must be rolled during a point phase (“making the point number” or being considered the “made point number”) so a round can move to the start of an additional come-out phase, as part of a series of phases in that same round. Making the point number is the main objective of a point phase. During a series of phases, the main objective of the come-out phase is again to establish a point number for use during the following point phase. An unlimited number of additional series can be included during a round when a point number is made during each point phase, but the round ends upon the roll of a seven-out during a point phase.
Wagers can be placed on a variety of bets which include: (a) single roll bets; which are resolved with the next roll of the dice during either the come-out phase or the point phase, (b) multiple roll bets; which can take more than one roll of the dice to be resolved being initiated and resolved during the same phase, either the come-out phase or the point phase, (c) multiple roll bets; which can take more than one roll of the dice to be resolved being initiated in the come-out phase and being resolved during the point phase.
Each different bet follows specific bet guidelines regarding when the wager can be accepted for a bet (“initiated”); and while it is located on a physical gaming table or a simulated gaming table of a EGD (“in play”), when it is able to be resolved by a rolled outcome number (“active”) or when it is not able to be resolved (“unresolved”) by a rolled outcome number (“not active” or “non-active”). An active bet can automatically become not active when the round moves from one phase to another, or an active bet can be requested to become not active (“turned off”) by a player. Similarly, a non-active can automatically become active when the round moves from one phase to another, or a non-active bet can be requested to become active (“turned on”) by a player. Also, a bet can have an additional wager amount added by a player to an existing wager (“increased”), a bet can have a portion of the existing wager taken back by a player (“decreased”) or a bet can have the entire amount of the existing wager taken back by a player (“removed”). See Tables 4a, 4b and 4c “Bet Guidelines”, for a list of the specific bet guidelines for the prior art standard bets of casino craps, prior art side bets of casino craps, as well as the bets of the present invention.
Each different bet also follows specific rules regarding when it is a winning bet, a losing bet, a push or unresolved. See Tables 3a, 3b, and 3c “Payout Schedule”, for a list of the specific rules of resolution for the different bets of the present invention. Recommended payout ratios for the different bets are also listed, but only as a guideline and are not intended to be defining or limiting.
In a game of prior art casino craps, when a round ends with a roll outcome number of a seven during a point phase, considered a seven-out, a current shooter's turn ends also. The new round that follows begins with an initial come-out phase with a new player becoming the shooter. All active bets are completed and removed from play when a roll outcome number is a seven-out. Put another way, there are no prior art casino craps bets that remain active being initialized in a first round and “carry forward” into another round, to be resolved in the later round.
In the game of prior art casino craps, bets that relate to the point number are resolved when the point number is made, not when the point number is established. There are a variety of prior art casino craps side bets which also relate to the point number. The side bets methods require that a bet is initiated prior to a point number being established and cannot be initialized or increased during a point phase of a round. They are then resolved when a point number is made, and require a quantity of point numbers to be made, whether it is unique point numbers or total point numbers. They also are not resolved when a point number is established.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,547 to Hobert describes a craps layout arrangement having jackpot area with the game of craps to be played in a conventional manner while simultaneously introducing a jackpot into the game. Specifically, a wager that a set of a plurality of dice outcomes are rolled, said set having a remote probability of occurrence. There are seven types of events which a host of the game could designate as the series to be completed. Six of the seven types discuss the method of completion being before a seven is rolled with the seventh type having to take place entirely during the come-out phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,689 to Staci describes a craps game improvement with a proposition bet for craps referred to as a FIRE BET™. The method includes predetermining a schedule of a pay-out table, players placing FIRE BET™ wagers at respective player betting areas prior to a shooter's initial come out; accumulating points responsive to outcomes of the shooter's dice throws, wherein point are made when a number 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is twice rolled before sevening out, and wherein repeating of any made number is ignored, and making a pay-out based upon the points accumulated and the schedule.
Published U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/591,362 to Snow describes a method of providing a running side bet wager on craps with a side bet added to the play of a game of Craps. A player places a side bet wager on an occurrence of at least two consecutive Pass events, and establishing a third Point without rolling a seven. After the third Point is made, a payout is awarded. All subsequent rolls gain a payout until the shooter rolls a seven.
Published U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/835,358 to O′Conner describes bonus craps gaming with a bonus bet where a bonus outcome occurs when the sequence of dice roll outcomes includes a predetermined number of consecutive pass outcomes before a bonus bet termination event, such as a seven out or a crap out.
Though there are side bets for the game of casino craps that exist in the prior art, none of the above references disclose a method having a non-standard method of play, wherein a bet stays active and in play after a round ending seven-out, being resolved in the following round. In the standard method of a casino craps game, as well as prior art side bets, all active bets are removed from play upon a round ending seven-out. Further, none of the above references disclose a method having a non-standard method of play, wherein a bet is resolved by establishing a particular point number. In the standard method of a casino craps game, as well as prior art side bets, all bets relating to point numbers are resolved by making a particular point number.
What is needed is new casino craps side bet wager opportunities which can increase the game facilitator (casino, EGD administrator or other entity offering a game) profitability, as well as stimulate player involvement and enjoyment, by offering bets having non-standard methods of play.